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La Manual Alpargatera begun as an espadrille workshop just after the Spanish Civil War (the forties). It combined an ancient handicraft tradition with leading fashion tendencies at that time, and it gave rise to a new alternative in the field of accessories. This activity begun somewhere between the Cathedral, the Ramblas,and the Palau de la Generalitat (Catalan government). The shop was decorated with a selected collection of traditional objects placed according to their function at the moment. In our shop, you will find and enjoy our classic and fancy models for women, men and children.
Soon, its facade became a characteristic symbol of our city. So much so that not a long time ago, a letter arrived at the shop with only a picture of La Manual's facade and with Barcelona written underneath.
Nowadays La Manual is a must for the informed travellers who visit our city and a yearly appointment for most people from Barcelona. Many international prizes, highly favourable comments have appeared in prestigious magazines and the visit of personalities from all around the world guarantee our experience.
The espadrille is an ecological light shoe made with natural materials: vegetable fiber (hemp, jute, esparto...) for the sole and cotton, linen... for the instep. It is a footwear with a very long tradition. In the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (National Archeological Museum) there is exposed an espadrille found in la cueva de los murciélagos (bat's cave) in Albuñol(Granada)that humans wore
approximately 4000 years ago. The tradition has survived all these centuries, suffering some
variations, but it has remained the same in the basics, that is why it still offers a comfortable footwear that fits any feet. In order to keep your espadrilles in good state, use them on dry ground as vegetable fiber soaks up the water -from the rain, for example-, the drenched sole becomes deformed due to the weight of the body .If this happens, wash them with soap and water as soon as possible, either by hand or in a washing machine (if they are hand sewn) If you wash them by hand, rinse them with a lot of water and dry them as soon and best as possible, to prevent rot. If you wash espadrilles in a washing machine, use a short program and cold water. White or cream colored espadrilles could sometimes acquire a yellow shade if the canvas dries before the sole does. In this case, when they dry up, clean the canvas with some bleach (chlorine) mixed in water to whiten color again.
www.lamanualalpargatera.com
http://homepage.mac.com/manualp
C/. Avinyó, 7 - 08002 Barcelona
Tel. 93 3010172 - manualp@mac.com
Fax: 93 3011829 - Fax: 93 2111743 (24H)
Working hours: 9,30h-13,30h 16,30h-20,00h
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